Harry Potter and the Wizarding World Book 1
by ThatOne749
Summary: What if the curiosity of a Potter lead to the revelations of a puppet master, the reconciliation of a family, England winning the Quidditch World Cup and extremists rising from both sides of the political spectrum? Not necessarily in that order Slight AU starting from Philosopher's Stone, adhering mostly to cannon until Book 3 (small yet crucial differences remain until then)


Chapter 1

 _'Well'_ Harry miserably thought, _'I don't know why, but I thought at least the Dursley's would see me off, even if it was a celebration of not having to see me at all for ten months.'_

Hedwig simply looked and barked at her owner, attempting to cheer her human up it looked like. well, it was working, as Harry grinned, at least he had one... firend? Well Hedwig was more than any pet, but calling the animal a friend, when Harry knew perfectly well that good friends both liked each other... he had no idea what Hedwig thought of him...

Some of his aprehension must've been showig, as the snowy owl began barking again, if she were human, or could speak, Harry would bet that those barks would translate to something like 'come on, cheer up, at least your away from the Dursleys, and you're going into a new world, a brand new start, and you'll be like your parents...' well maybe that last bit was more wishful thinking on Harry's part, but still, it would be nice to have some more tangeable connection to his parents.

And his owl, in the month he owned... actualy come to think of it, he didn;t like that word much, Hedwig was not an oblect, she was, well more than a pet at least.. so the day they _met_ , Hedwig already seamed like an unusually intelligent owl. She knew to stay out of Uncle Vernon's way, unlike the stray cat and some of the spiders, and she was _much_ harder to hide, but she seemed to just _vanish_ when she wanted.

Harry thought back, with a grin, how, when he first _met_ Hedwig, and let her out of her cage – he knew what it felt like being locked up, and didn't wish it on anyone else.

 _After that strange conversation with Mr Olivander, harry quickly wanted to leave the shop. Of course, that was his tried and tested survival method, anything that caused pain_ (Dudley, _maybe his Aunt and Uncle if he wasn't fast enough, but_ only a few times), _he ran, anything that made him uncomfortable, he ran, it was just easier that way._

 _Of course, being the 'Saviour of the Wizarding World' meant that he couldn't run anymore,he had to face up to those... but maybe just for today, Harry thought, I'll start being brave tommorrow and keep at it,but I'll not put on an act today._

 _Of course, Harry was far too busy looking, or trying to look, at everything to think about his running. Everyone went about their business here, but_ it was a street full of MAGIC _, there was no way Harry could treat this as a normal day out._

 _Suddenly, he was distracted by a number of cracks, sounding suspiciously like a muffled dinner plate breaking,_ and Harry knew that sound well, _after all, a seven year old wasn't the most agile in the kitchen after all, but when he turned around, he saw far more people behind him than he counted before._

" _Ah Harry, tha's apparatin'." Hagrid smiled at him when Harry wondered where those people could have come from, and what those muffled cracks were._

" _Yeh see, when a witch or wizard wants ta be somewhre quick, they'll app'rate. They pop up somewhere with a crack. A bit of a weird feelin', bu' much faster than anythin' else."_

 _Harry was completely lost by this explaination, but of course it would make perfect sense for a wizard to just_ know _these things._

 _He resolved to learn as much as he could, and_ fast, _after all, a Saviour of the Wizarding World who knew nothing about the Wizarding world wasn't much, and it would be nice to understand what those people were talking aobut without just nodding along._

 _But then, he remembered his Owl, she didn't have a name yet, Harry knew little enough about magic to name his Owl after something magical, a normal name just wouldn't suit her..._

" _Hagrid, do you think I'd be able to let her out for a bit, my owl I mean, I just don't think she likes being locked up." Harry motioned to his Owl, trying to cover up his (stuttering/saying too much). He was talking to a_ giant _on a_ magical street _about letting his_ own Owl _out of her cage!_

" _Ah, yeh migh' want t'name 'er first, ya' see, she might no' recognise you wantin' 'er ta come back otherwise." Hagrid replied with a sheepish grunt. Harry thought it sounded like he'd done something like that and his animal didn't come back._

" _Oh, OK then.." Harry tried not to look downcast, "Do you think we can find somewhere to sit so I can try to name her then?"_

" _Of course, we'll pop into the Blue Gryffyn, we can sit down an' ave a look at names. I got a few yeh migh' like."_

 _With that, both wizards went into a resteraunt with a red winged lion on the front,and again, as soon as 'Harry Potter' was mentioned, handshakes, wishes of thanks and assurences of 'on the house Mister Potter, on the house' after a private table and 'birthday meal' for Harry was ordered._

" _...Calliopie... Andromeda...Hectae...Thalia..."_

 _None of the ancient names sounded quite right, Harry was studying his History of Magic introductory textbook, treacle tart, which was fast becoming his favourite wizarding food, sitting on the table, with Hagrid munching on some rock cakes._

" _Try a diff'rent name, maybe medieval, all the greatest wizards were in th' middle ages, tha's where 'alf the wizarding families come from."_

" _Wizarding familes?" This confused Harry, was this the ruling body of wizards, like Magical Government, and Minister for Magic sounded like a title from the norm...Muggle government, so was there Magical Paliament?_

 _When he asked Hagrid this, he received a chuckled response._

" _Nah 'arry, the Minister fer Magic is elected from whoever the wizengamot wants. The wizarding familes, like the Potters an Bones' and Longbottoms are familes tha' can trace wizards back to the middle ages, round the Norman times. O course, some claim family goin to the Romans, but tha's codswallop."_

" _Do you know about different wizarding families Hagrid?"_

" _Not a lot 'arry, but y'can look at some 'istory books to get an idea. The Potters were never called as a 'proper' wizardin' family cos they kept themselves with muggles fer a while, bu tha's even more codswallop. I'm not too sure on t'others, there's an old ranking system somewhere..."_

 _After that, Harry determined to find out about this new world. But not before he named his Owl. Tracking throught the History of Magic textbook, Harry looked at famous medieval witches._

" _...Hmm, … Walburga, Tydfil, Hunna, … Hedwig."_

 _Harry's Owl seemed to like that last name, and it suited her. A German Witch who founded hospitals and married a muggle king, and as with many medieval witches that were too clever to be burned, was venerated as a saint by the sumary harry looked at. A beautiful name for a beautiful owl._

" _Hedwig, yes that feels right."_

 _His Ow.. Hedwig barked again, looking content with her new name._

 _It turned out that Hedwig (the witch) had an alder wand with a mandrake root core, which, according to the textbook suited her views on protecting the weak, that gave Harry assurance that Hedwig was the best name for his Owl._

 _Harry was about to go to the section concerning wizarding families, before remembering his earlier promise to release Hedwig for a while._

 _This was overheard by Tiberius Rees, the Owner of the Blue Gryffon, who promptly assured 'Mister Potter' that a miniature Owlery was set up in a small garden area specifically for Post Owls of customers, that he was sure Hedwig would be able to enjoy it there for a while._

 _With that, Harry was led to what he assumed was a miniature owlery, and opened Hedwig's cage, allowing his owl to make herself temporarily at home among the Blue Gryffon's post owls until Harry and Hagrid had finished the birthday meal._

 _Harry then asked the owner of the resturant if_ he _knew anything about the wizarding families. Nothing could stop the curiousity of an eleven year old after all._

" _Oh yes, well I suppose you want to know a bit about your own famly first of all. Well Charlus Potter, your Grandfather, sold my father a small brewery and some farmland in Somerset, where we started the 'Gold Falcon' pub, catering for wizards in South England and those seeing the wizard spa's in Bath. I know that your paternal family, the Potters themselves, happen to posess most of their fortune due to potioneering, and a few investments in some farmland and potioneering guilds, but I'm not too sure what or where they are. Of course, most of what I know about the Potters comes from rescuing your father out of a few rather funny situations that, when I have more time, I'll be happy to tell you._

 _Now as for wizarding famileis in general, your best hope, would be 'Modern Wizarding Geneologies' by Thomes Hughes, I think Flourish and Blotts stocks them."._

 _Harry eagerly nodded at that, promising to meet Mr Rees again to have more connection with his family._

 _Upon getting back to Hagrid, Harry began questioning the half giant about the magical cratures he worked with and the wizarding world again._

Harry smiled fondly at the memory, in his first day in the wondrous world of wizardry he had found a connection to his family that he couldn't have dreamed of.

Now pushing his trolley, with Hedwig's cage precariously balanced on top of his school trunk, he wandered through King's Cross station, trying to find Platform 9 ¾. He looked but couldn't find any instructions on how to get onto that platform. Hagrid had probably forgotten to tell him when they were talking about magical creatures, he _had_ almost forgotten to take Harry back to the Dursley's when they eventually had to leave Diagon Alley.

'...Absolutely _packed_ with muggles. Now who can tell me where Platform 9 ¾ is?'

The sound of a witch, hopefully explaining Hograwrts to another first year gave the saviour of the wizarding world hope that he could find his way to the platform, and therefore Hogwarts after all.


End file.
